Method of mining involving four isolated sections



Nov. 11, 1958 iled F /r J. F. .JOY

METHOD OF' MINING INVOLVING FOUR ISOLATED SECTIONS wl v.

ATTORN EY Nov. 11, 1958 J. F. JOY 2,859,953

METHOD oF MINING INvoLvING FOUR IsoLATED SECTIONS Filed Feb. 25, 1955 5Sheecs-Shee'I 2 Q Q Q CQ 2 s Q N N L S $5 u) Q *Q q. LL

Q Se u R91 QN U Qn XN N klm In N @N @95S INVENToRiE Q JOSEPH F. JOY L (DE B L l Q Qwql Ri QQ ATTORNEY Nov. 11, 1958 J. F. JOY

METHOD OF MINING INvoLvING FOUR IsOLATEn SECTIONS Filed Feb. 25. 1955Sheets-Sheet 3 N Q N INVENTOR JOSEPH FMIOY ATTORNEY AMM J. F. JOY

Nov. 11, 1958 METHOD OF MINING INVOLVINGV FOUR ISOLATED SECTIONS 5Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb.v 25, 1955 Q INVENTORI JOSEPH F. JOY

NT: 1 mN 1 Imm 1% w N m 1 ATTORNEY Nov. 11, 1958 J. F. JoY v 2,859,953

NING INVLVING FOUR ISOLATED SECTIONS Fla@ Z5 INVENT JOSEPH F. J

ATTORNEY lVIETHOD lF MINING INVOLVING FOUR ISOLATED SECTIONS ApplicationFebruary 25, 1955, Serial'No. 490,657

9 IClaims. (Cl. 26Z-1) This invention relates toga mining method andmore particularly to a method of mining coal in underground mines.

In the retreating longwall system of mining coal as usually employed,the ycoal heretofore was commonly cut by coal cutting machines, drilledto provide blast holes and then blasted down and loaded out, and morerecently coal has been dislodged from a longwall face by a continuousmining machine which removed the coal directly from the solid withoutthe need for drilling and blasting, and special equipment has beenprovided for loading out the coal produced by this highly productivemachine, yet full continuous mining without interruptions has not beenachieved. The present invention contemplates improvements in previousmethods in that the coal may be mined and loaded out in a substantiallycontinuous manner from the remote faces of isolated productive areas ofa mine toward a centrally located point, thereby not only substantiallyincreasing the production of coal but-also, at the same time, reducingthe hazards and difculties previously encountered and, as a resultthereof, substantially reducing the time consumed in the mining coal.Also, the rate of production from the several productive areas may beregulated to meet Athe-demand.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved method ofmining. Another object -is to provide an improved method of mining coalin underground mines whereby production may take place concurrently atwidely spaced isolated faces. Still another object is to provide animproved method of mining in accordance with the panel system whereineach panel section is eiectively isolated from the others and theproductive areas are each independent of the others andyet employ commonmine entries and ventilation systems. Yet another object is to providean improved method of mining 4coal in accordance with'the full retreatlongwall ssytem requiring that initial development work be carried tothe boundaries of the coal eld or mine -acreage in order that productivemining may begin at the four remote corners of the property. A stillfurther object is to provide an Yimproved mining method in accordancewith the -panel system wherein the productive areas may belocated at thefour remote corners of the coal eld at isolated points and productionmay be carried on concurrently or separately at such points. Otherobjects will become apparent to those skilled in the art as thedescription proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate the irnproved method ofmining coal;

Fig. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic horizontal 4section showing a coalfield or section to be minedout, with the numerous panels indicated inbroken lines, and showing the main entries and upcast shaft.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal diagrammatic'section, similar to Fig. 1, showingthe fourlisolated productiveareas which are connected at remotelyseparatedpoints by ythe mine entries.

Fig. 3 is a' horizontal'diagrammatic section, showing the coal eld oracreage partially Vmined out.

nited tates Patent drilling parallel horizontal bores by a boring.machine or bore miner of the kind disclosedV in my copendingapplication Serial No. 296,324, Vtiled June 30, 1952, now .P at- Fig. 4is a horizontal section, similar to Fig. 3, showingthe coal field oracreage with the coal almost completely mined out.v

Figs. 5a and 5b, Vtaken together, .constitute an enlarged horizontalsectional view of a pair of adjacent panels showing the productive areasat oneboundary oftheY coal eld.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged vertical section, taken on line 6 6 of Fig. 5a,showing a pair of horizontal Ventilating bores parallel withrthe workingface of aproductive area.

Fig. 7 is anienlarged vertical section through'oneof'the mine entries,taken online 77 ,of Fig. 5a.

Fig. 8 is a vertical section, somewhatenlarged,.taken on line 8 8 ofFig. 5a.

Fig. 9.is enlarged verticalfsection taken ,on linef9-9 of Fig. 5a,showing the parallel mine entries.

Fig. l0 is an enlarged section vshowing-the central portion `of Fig. 2.

In connection with the description ofthe improved mining method,yattention is-asked to my copending applications, ,Serial No. 296,323relating to Method of Mining Coal, now abandoned, and Serial No. 296,327relating Yto Method of Ventilating the Productive Areas of aCoal Mine,ybothliled on June 30, 1952.

for equal sections, designated A,B,`C.and D and in order to comprehendthe si-ze of the area involved it might'be stated that the field mayextend to arwidth of two `miles or more and to a length vof nearly threeor more miles,

Ialthough the exact limits Yof the perimeter of the lield are of littleVimportance insofar as the .present invention is concerned. Eachquarter-section is `shown divided .by

construction lines into a series, herein forillustrative purposes.shown-as twelve, of -rectangular panels and the vpanelsxoflthe foursections are respectively designatedla, 1b, 1c and 1d, andthe fourproductive-areas are respectively designated 2a, 2b,.2c andZd. Extendingcentrally lengthwise of the eld are four parallel .mainentriesdesignated 3, 4, 5 and .6and these-.are shownon a larger scale `in Figs;Savand Sbiland in cross.V section` in Fig. 9. These main entriesv may beformed in various Vmanners by machines of Vvarious Vtypesbut arehereindesirably formedby ent-No. 2,822,159, and Hby cutting away the dividingusprag by aspragcutter lor sprag miner as Vvdisclosed in my copendingVapplication Serial No. 296,325, iiledJuneiSO, 4952, now Patent No.2,796,246. As shown in Figs. 5aand 5b, parallel horizontal ventilatingbores 9 and 10 extend across the main entries, 4 and 5,6 in parallelismwith the sides of therectangular panel'being mined out and theseboresopen tintohori- Zontal bores 11 and 12 extending in parallelismwith each -working .face 13. Aseriesof horizontal.,break-throughsordrill holes `141 connect-theparallel bores 9 and-10 while similarhorizontal break-through holes 15 extend between the bores .11 and 12and a bore A16 vextendingin.parallelism with thebores 11 and 12-and-with the working face 'inside of the latter,(Fig. 5b). A spragminer17 is shown yoperatingin the bore 16 forcutting away the sprag of ,c oal18'` and a conventional conveying means-19 extends outwardly vthroughthe bore 16 to a panel entry 20 arranged `parallelfwith the vbores .9and 10. The .breakthrough iholesconnect-the .bore 16 with theventilatingporesgll and IZmand a borevminerllis shown formngafourth.bore `22 parallel .withfand `inside of. the bore ,11. .Aimilarcor1veyor-23` in the bore ..22 fextends out-wardly through #the beraterconveying-away the cuttingsdischargedfrom the bore miner and theconveyors 19 and 23 discharge onto a conveyor 24 extending outwardlythrough the panel entry 20. As the sprag miner 17 cuts away the sprag 18at the production area, the roof may gradually'subside and when thesprag is completely mined out, the sprag miner may then operate in thenext adjacent parallel bore 12 to mine out the next adjacent sprag, allin the manner fully disclosed in my copending application Serial No.296,323, above referred to.

t The parallel bores of the entries 4 and 5 leave therebetween anunbroken division pillar 25 while extending transversely, midway betweenthe ends of the coal field, is a d ivision pillar 26 indicated in brokenlines in Figs. -l and 2. The four main entries 3, 4, and 6 extend inparallelism with the longitudinal division pillar 25 and the panelentries, indicated in broken lines at 20, in Fig. l,

are bored transversely in parallelism with the transverse divisionpillar 26 to form the series of panels. It will thus be seen that therectangular coal field has been divided into four equal sections, eachisolated from the others by the division pillars 25 and 26 which extendunbroken between the central portion of the coal field and theproductive areas 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d. The two inner parallel mine entries3 and 4, as shown in Fig.'2, communicate with a centrally located upcastshaft 28 and right-angle openings 29 connect the main entries 3, 4 and5, 6 at the shaft.

Also located in adjacency to the upcast shaft near the.

point of intersection of the division pillars is a downcast air andconveyor slope 30.

The series of rectangular panels are successively mined out in themanner described above and as the panels are removed, the roof isallowed to subside and, in Fig. 3, nearly half of the field is shownmined out, while in Fig. 4 mining out of the field is nearly complete.

From the foregoing, it will be evident that, in accordance with thenovel method above described, the coal is mined out by the full retreatlongwall system so that initial development work may be carried from thecenter of the coal field to the remote boundaries of the field in orderthat productive mining might begin at the four remote corners of therectangle, and the series of panels of the four equal sections A, B, Cand D of the field may be progressively removed in directions toward thetransverse division pillar 26, as shown in Fig. 3, and in Fig. 4, the

four equal sections are shown nearly completely mined out. The minedcoal is conveyed from the mine along the slope at the center of the eld.

By the provision of the longitudinal and transverse division pillars 25andr26 extending between the centrally i located shaft 28 and theproductive areas 2a, 2b, 2c and v2d and the'particular arrangement ofthe mine entries, the

` minimizes,lif not entirely eliminates, the need for roofsupportingtimber or roof supports at the productive areas. In the event that fullproduction of the coal field at the four productive areas is unnecessaryto meet the demand, the fourV working faces may be separately workedindependently of the others. The longitudinal and transverse divisionpillars 25 and 26 separate the four equal sections of the field betweenthe four productive areas and the centrally located shaft so that thefour productive areas are each substantially isolated from the others,thereby to a large degree localizing the effect of explosions, due tothe fact that gas-laden air from the productive area of one sectioncannot possibly mix with the Ventilating air of the productive 4areas ofthe other sections. By the separation of the field into four equalsections by the longitudinal and transverse division pillars 25 and 26,the four productive areas or sections,` in effect, constitute foursepv'arate coal mines each independent of the other.

While the bore and sprag miners of my `copending ap- 4 plications SerialNos. 296,324 and 296,325 have been employed in the formation of thebores and entries and for removing the coal from the productive areas,it will be evident that the various mining operations may be performedby machines of other types, as for example, by the machines of mycopending applications Serial No. 325,652, filed November 6, 1950, nowPatent No. 2,769,627,`Serial No. 214,242, filed March 7, 1951, nowPatent No. 2,730,346, and Serial No. 405,853, filed Ianuary 25, 1953.Moreover, since the particular method 'of removing the coal at theproductive areas and the method of ventilation of the productive areasdo not per se enter into the present invention, the actual mining out ofthe coal and Ventilating of the mine may be effected in accordancewithother known methods.

While there is in this application specifically disclosed the improvedmethod by which the invention may be practiced, it will be vunderstoodthat this is shown for purposes of illustration and that the inventionmay be practiced in other manners without departing from its spirit orthe scope of the appended claims.

What l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

lQA method of mining coal comprising laying out a coal field in fourequal sections, forming passages in the coal to provide divisionpillars, one extending centrally longitudinally of the field and theother extending centrally transversely of the field, with the pillarsextending unbroken from the central portion of the field to the remoteboundaries of the four sections for substantially isolating the foursections from each other, dividing each section into a series of panels,and progressively removing the panels from the outer boundaries of thefield in directions toward the transverse division pillar.

2. A method of mining coal as set forth in claim l wherein the coal isremoved by the full retreat system with the initial development workcarried from the point of intersection of said division pillars to thelremote boundaries of the field.

3. A method of mining coal as set forth in claim 2 wherein an upcastshaft and a downcast air and conveyor slope are formed at the center ofthe field near the point of intersection of the division pillars andproduction of coal from the panels takes place in directions toward saidshaft and slope.

4. A method of mining coal comprising laying out.l a coal field in fourequal sections, separating the four equal sections by longitudinal andtransverse divisio-n pillars intersecting at a point located centrallyof the field and extending from the vicinity of said centrally locatedpoint to the remote boundaries of the field for substantially isolatingeach section from the others, dividing each section into a series ofrectangular panels, and mining out the panels from the remote boundariesof the field in directions toward the transverse division pillar.

5. A method of mining coal as set forth in claim' 4 wherein an upcastshaft and downcast slope are formed near the point of intersection ofsaid division pillars.

6. A method of mining coal as set forth in claim 4 wherein parallel mineentries extend longitudinally between the pairs of sections at the sidesof the field, and Ventilating air passages are formed to extend from theentires to the faces of the productive areas, the longitudinal divisionpillar completely separating an entry at one side of the field from anentry at the other side thereof.

7. A method of mining coal comprising dividing a rectangular coal fieldinto four equal sections, `separating the four sections by longitudinaland transverse division pillars which intersect at the center yof thefield and extending from the vicinity of the center of the field to theouter boundaries of the field for substantially isolating each sectionfrom the others, dividing each of the four sections into a series ofpanels, and, progressively lremoving the panels from the outerboundaries of the eld in 9. A method of mining coal as set forth inclaim 8 directions toward the transverse division pillar. wherein themined out coal is conveyed from the mine 8. A method of mining coalcomprising dividing a recat the center of the eld near the inner ends ofthe ditangular coal field into four equal sections, dividing the visionpillars.

four sections by longitudinal and transverse division pil- 5 larsextending unbroken between the vicinity of the cen- References Cited inthe file 0f this Patent tral portion of the field and the outermostworking face UNITED STATES PATENTS of the sections for substantiallyisolating each section from the others, and mining out the coal from theoutermost working faces of the sections in directions toward the 10transverse division pillar.

